Mursi warns foul play in Egypt vote will trigger revolt

The Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate Mohammed Mursi said on Thursday that foul play in Egypt’s election run-off that pits him against Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, would be met by “a huge revolution.”

Mursi also said at a news conference that a court ruling that overturned a law that would have prevented Shafiq from running in the race and another that will dissolve the Brotherhood-led parliament indicated “there some who seek, strive for and plan ill against the people.”

The Muslim Brotherhood candidate urged all Egyptians to unite on the days of the run-off elections, scheduled on Saturday and Sunday, against any attempt to forge the elections. He invited the voters to head to the ballot boxes in millions.

Mursi added that the revolution “is continuing and the power will be transferred from the military to an elected civilian authority.”

Earlier Thursday, Mursi said he respected a court ruling that declared as unconstitutional the rules under which Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament was elected.

He said in an television interview he also respected the Supreme Constitutional Court’s decision to allow his rival in the presidential election, Shafiq, to stay in the race -- though he said the ruling was “unsatisfactory.”

“The ruling must be respected,” Mursi told the privately-owned Dream TV in reference to the ruling on parliament, an assembly in which the Brotherhood has the biggest bloc.

“This ruling does not dissolve parliament,” he added, saying that it only applied to a third of the members of the assembly.

However, the head of the constitutional court had earlier told Reuters that the ruling would mean parliament would be dissolved and new elections held.